The last player to leave the first-base dugout Wednesday after the final out of the 2025 season was New York Yankees star Juan Soto.
Game 5 of the World Series might also have been Soto’s last in a Yankees uniform. Apparently he didn’t want it to end — and his teammates don’t want his time in the Bronx to end, either.
“Just stay with us,” Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton said when asked for the advice he would give Soto in free agency.
“I hope he’s here forever,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “but I also know I’m excited for him and what the next few months are for him.”
Juan Soto was asked if he thought tonight was his last game as a Yankee:
“You never know. At the end of the day, we’ll see where we’re at. Definitely a tough game to be my last one. But really happy with what we accomplished as a team and how far we got” pic.twitter.com/7O80JudeYg
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) October 31, 2024
Soto also spoke at length to reporters after the Yankees’ 7-6 loss.
Al Bello/Getty Images
“You never know,” he said, when asked if it was his final game as a Yankee. “At the end of the day, we’ll see where we’re at. Definitely a tough game to be my last one. But really happy with what we accomplished as a team and how far we got. We wanted to be the last team standing but things happen.”
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After a season in which he batted .288 with 41 home runs and 109 RBIs, Soto will command more money than any free agent this winter — if not ever. At 26, he’s hitting the open market at a relatively young age and could be in line for a payday in the neighborhood of the 10-year, $700 million contract Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers last year.
Juan Soto was asked if he expects the Mets to go after him in free agency:
“I don’t know what’s the teams that are going to come after me. Definitely, I’ll be open to this and every single team. I don’t have any doors closed. I”m gonna be available for all 30 teams pic.twitter.com/3VICeWeney
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) October 31, 2024
“I don’t know what teams want to come after me,” Soto said. “Definitely I’ll be open to this and every single team. I don’t have any doors closed, or anything like that. I’m going to be available to all 30 teams.”
Soto has averaged a .288/.421/.532 slash line across seven seasons, and 31 home runs in every non-pandemic season since his debut.
Juan Soto on the perception of him preferring to stay in New York:
“I don’t think so. I’m really happy with the city, with the team, how these guys do. At the end of the day, we’re gonna look at every situation, every offer that we’ll get and take the decision from there” pic.twitter.com/hAfOh4g7Uf
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) October 31, 2024
Even though they fell short of the 28th championship in franchise history, it’s hard to imagine the Yankees advancing as far as they did in 2024 without Soto.
“I’m really happy with the city, with the team, how these guys do,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re gonna look at every situation, every offer that we’ll get and take the decision from there.”
If Wednesday marked his final game in pinstripes, let the record show Soto grounded out in his final at-bat in the eighth inning.
“This is gonna stay in my heart for the rest of my life. This group of guys, this year was really special for me. I’m really proud of myself for what I accomplished. Thanks to Judge, he was a big part of it. Really proud of myself and this group of guys”
– Juan Soto pic.twitter.com/2p7SHC13u9
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) October 31, 2024
“This is gonna stay in my heart for the rest of my life — this group of guys, this year, was really special for me,” he said. “I’m really proud of myself for what I accomplished.”
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